Former Essex players Mervyn Westfield and Danish Kaneria face lengthy bans on
Friday when the England and Wales Cricket Board hands down punishments at
the end of county cricket’s first corruption case.

Westfield is expected to be banned for at least two years after pleading guilty to charges of spot fixing. He entered a plea in mitigation and also appeared as a witness for the prosecution in Kaneria’s case, moves which are likely to reduce his sentence.

It is thought Kaneria faces up to a five-year suspension at the end of a four-day tribunal in London which investigated corruption allegations dating back to the period when both men played for Essex in 2009.

The ECB has used evidence gathered by Essex police as well as information uncovered by its own anti-corruption unit in piecing together a case against Kaneria, who has protested his innocence throughout.

Kaneria has appeared at the tribunal, chaired by Gerard Elias QC, to defend himself as he fights for his cricketing future.

It is understood the Pakistan Cricket Board has said it will recognise any punishment meted out by the ECB, meaning Kaneria will be prevented from playing domestic cricket in his home country.

A maximum life ban is open to the tribunal but more lenient punishments were handed to three Pakistan international players by the International Cricket Council last year, setting a precedent for the ECB.

It is anticipated the ECB will publish the full findings of its hearing and Kaneria is expected to immediately appeal against the verdict.

Fast bowler Westfield was jailed for four months at the Old Bailey earlier this year for agreeing to under-perform in a CB40 match between Essex and Durham in Sept 2009. The judge in the case named Kaneria as the “corruptor” of Westfield at his sentencing hearing.

Kaneria was arrested by Essex police alongside Westfield but did not face any charges due to a lack of evidence.

Tony Palladino, the former Essex bowler who reported Westfield to the authorities, is also believed to have given evidence for the prosecution.

Witness statements were also taken from Essex players.

Kaneria’s career path looks set to follow that of Salman Butt, his former Pakistan Test captain who this morning arrived back in Pakistan after serving seven months of a 30-month prison sentence for corruption.

Butt left Canterbury prison on Thursday morning accompanied by his legal team, who secured his freedom under the Government’s early removal scheme, a programme which sees overseas prisoners released as long as they agree to be deported from this country.

He flew from Heathrow on Thursday vowing to fight his additional five-year suspension at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Butt was jailed for corruption offences after a five-week trial at Southwark Crown Court last November. He was convicted alongside fast bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif, who have both been released after serving half of their sentences.

Mazher Majeed, the sports agent who masterminded the fixing plot orchestrated and exposed by the News of the World, was jailed for two years eight months and is still in prison.